Faith, Tested and Abiding

Published: November 18, 2001

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Those who attend services now also seem to be more sharply focused. Instead of contemplating a to-do list of chores, or thinking about something else, during the last two months congregants listen harder to the message from their pastor.

The Rev. Raymond J. Byrne, pastor of Immaculate Conception Roman Catholic Church in Irvington, said: ''I'm seeing more whole families at Mass now, not just a mother with one or two children. I see people being much more interested in trying to transmit their faith to their children.''

''No matter what happens, people are still creatures of habit,'' said Mr. Miller of the Presbyterian Church of Mount Kisco. He observed that the Northeast is not traditionally a religious area, like the Southeast or Midwest, so that the recent interest in spiritual questions and religious services is more pronounced here.

''I'm more satisfied that they are changing habits of thought,'' he said. ''A much deeper spiritual vein has been plumbed in terms of their marriages or relationships, their careers, and their children. For the first three weeks, most of our people were in shock. I'm hearing people asking questions like what kind of life do I want to build? What kind of legacy do I want to leave to my children? What is my contribution to the world? I try to remind my congregants of the presence of God, and give a deeper sense of the security and meaning of God.''

THAT'S been part of the reason that Susan Barossi has been showing up at Zion Episcopal Church in Dobbs Ferry since Mr. Lepore's death. He had been a close friend since high school, and she has been drawn to his church for a variety of reasons, some spiritual and some not.

''I had heard about Father Richard all through the years from Michael,'' Ms. Barossi said last week, in the midst of preparing a dinner for some of Mr. Lepore's friends and Mr. McKeon. ''Father Richard brought so many people together at such a tragic time.

Another Zion member, John McCartney, added: ''We have a very close, comfortable and welcoming parish. . We have a children's corner set up in the church, and since the 11th, people have wanted their kids to be there with them. I think our community of faith has been strengthened. Richard's sermons are different, the tone is different, because the time is different. He talks about the challenges of faith in these times.''

Other congregations too, have seen changes in elements of the service.

Some now include the regular singing of ''God Bless America'' or ''America the Beautiful.'' In others, like Zion Episcopal, the tradition of exchanging what is known as ''the peace'' during services, when congregants greet or hug neighbors immediately around them, has become an expansive experience where congregants get up to greet every other member.

Hymns or prayers speak to worshipers in a different way than they had before. Texts that serve as the basis for sermons or homilies have been re-examined by clergy members, and appear to have taken on new meanings. And the messages themselves have shifted, toward consolation, hope, or how to make sense of what surfaced at the World Trade Center. Even familiar parts of the service like the prayer for peace or the prayer for the United States have been imbued with a decidedly different intensity.

Jeff Frankel, a board member at Woodlands Community Temple, said: ''I don't see where enormous things have changed. People can use that date as a marker or not. We're very much a community here. But at Rosh Hashana, I got goose bumps when we sang all the verses of 'America the Beautiful.' And it helped me that Rabbi Billy said that Rosh Hashana came at the end of shiva for the attacks. For me, that week was just like going through shiva. The idea was that we would never forget, but that it was time to move on.''

A Woodlands congregant, Andrea Kott-Parens, who readily admits that she grew up as a high holiday Jew, has found that although her attendance at worship services has not increased, her sense of the importance of her spiritual side has.

Like many others, the solace and comfort of being in a responsive spiritual community has been important for Ms. Kott-Parens, who regularly participates in a Saturday morning Torah study group.

''I do a lot of my spiritual work alone,'' said Ms. Kott-Parens, a freelance writer who is the mother of a 7-year-old daughter and a 5-year-old son. ''Since the 11th, it's nice to feel that you're on a spiritual path with others. That's what I get at Woodlands, that especially now, I'm in very good company.''

Photos: A parishioner at Mass at Sacred Heart Church in Hartsdale, above, and congregants at the Zion Episcopal Church in Dobbs Ferry, inset, take part in an ''Exchange of the Peace'' service, where hugs and handshakes abound. (Chris Maynard for The New York Times)(pg. 1); Worshipers at Mass at Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church in Hartsdale, above. The Rev. Eloise Young, pastor of the Tabernacle of Prayer in Dobbs Ferry, says her Christmas sermon will acknowledge the events of Sept. 11, urging people to ''feel a closer connection with one another.'' Andrea Kott-Parens, below, a member of Woodlands Community Temple in White Plains, studies the Torah at her Sleepy Hollow home. She says she feels a deeper sense of the importance of her spiritual side. (Photographs by Chris Maynard for The New York Times; Suzy Allman for The New York Times)(pg. 8)